The Southern baseball team has hit another low spot in the season, but this week provided some extra time off to try and make a push in the final three weeks before the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.
The Jaguars pushed this weekend’s home series against Alcorn State back to a Sunday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. and a Monday game at 1 p.m. at Lee-Hines Field.
The Jaguars (18-23, 11-9 SWAC) have lost six of their last seven conference games to drop to fourth place in the West Division. They have a chance to get healthier against a team they swept in Lorman, Mississippi, earlier this season and is 3-18 in the league.
First Southern has to overcome some offensive inconsistency that strikes from the middle innings onward. That has contributed to a recent downturn in fortunes.
“We’re just not playing well or playing smart baseball right now,” Southern coach Chris Crenshaw said. “We’ve got a little time on our hands to get it turned around and get ready for the tournament.
“We’ve been scoring some runs, but we’ve got to do better in the middle of the game with runners in scoring position. In the middle and late part in the game we’re coming up short. Pitchers are making adjustments to us and we’re not making adjustments to the pitcher.”
Southern battled injuries early in the year but finally has its everyday lineup healthy and deep. Shortstop KJ White is now the team’s leading hitter with a .357 batting average. Center fielder and leadoff man Tyeler Hawkins is next at .356, and he leads the team with eight homers and 39 RBIs.
The pitching this weekend will have Ranard Grace and Drew Lasseigne as the Sunday starters. Grace threw his best game of the season last weekend against Prairie View with a seven-inning, complete-game victory. He allowed two hits and struck out four.
“Whoever doesn’t throw on Sunday will get the chance to be the starter on Monday,” Crenshaw said.
It won’t be left-hander Joseph Semien, who is out for the season with arm trouble.
Southern is playing a team it routed earlier this season, scoring 43 runs on 37 hits in March. The Braves (4-34 overall) has shown some improvement in the meantime. The Braves snapped a 17-game losing streak with back-to-back victories against Arkansas-Pine Bluff last weekend.
Shortstop Garrett Palladino is batting .351 for the Braves. Nathan Gamez and Kalum Banks have four home runs each to lead the team. Gamez is batting .308 and has a team-high 17 RBIs.
“We have to come out and be ready and focused,” Crenshaw said.